OCTOBER, 1951
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by the housewife. Soybean sauce is t ~ nantique product. The author assumes that i t has been used by the Chinese for more than 3030 years. I n Chine, its production is largely confined to the household, but in the U. S. A. has been transferred almost entirely to the factory. Abstracts of the various methods of manufacturing the product are given, one in great detail. A table of replies from 45 State Agricultural Experiment Stations gives the recommended varieties suitable for growing for household purposes, yet i t would appear that only a very slight portion of the soybean crop is raised in the kitehen gardens of the U. S. A. Although this book is definitely not intended to he used as a oookbook by the housewife, yet a number of pages are devoted to home processingof green soybeans. Through the courtesy of the Illinois Agrioultural Experiment Ststion a three-color plate shows three varieties of soybean pods and soybeans, one a t the beginning of the edible period and the other two when in prime edible condition with a yellowish green color of the pods. The beans are also shown before and after cooking, which develops the green color. There is a verv beautiful monochrome halftone fieurr showine
sprouted beans for the table.
conversion of English and metric units, and centigrade xml Fahrenheit temperatures. The treatment of silicie acid and t,he natural silicates is excellent. Same of the diagrams on pages 44 and 45 would have been more meaningful had all the orbits becw shown. It would h a w been an excellent opportunity t o differentiate between atomic and ionic size. No mention is made of the use of silver iodide in the produotion of rain. The inclu~ion of a. diagram in the discussion of ore flotation an page 139 would have helped the student. The equation on page 243 could give the student an erroneous idea concerning the ionization of HCI. The expression "insetive ion pairs," above the equation, ia exeellent. The book is free from errors and meets the objectives set up by the authors. I t should prove t o be a st,imulstingtext t o both the student and the teacher. PAUL R. FREY and C. G. 8.JOHNBON
MATHEMATICS, QUEEN AND SERVANT OF SCIENCE
0 HERMANN C. LYTHGOE
N ~ W T O N V I L I E .M * B B * C H N ~ W T O N V L IE IM .* B B * C H U B E T T B B B B B B
Eric Temple Bell, Professor of Mathematics, California Institute of Technology. McGraw.Hill Book Co., Inc., New York, 1951. xx 437 pp. 36 figs. 14 X 21 am. $5.
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GENERAL CHEMISTRY FOR COLLEGES
0
B. Smith Hopkins, Professor of Inorganic Chemistry, Emeritus, and John C. Bailar, Jr., Professor of Chemistry, University of Illinois. Fourth edition. D. C. Heath and Co., Boston, 1951. x 694 pp. 290 figs. 75 tables. 1 plate. 17 X 24 cm. $5.50.
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THE fourth edition of this popular textbook is written in the eame pleasing narrative style of the previous editions. The book has been enlilrgcd, retaining the same rigorous treatment of concepts. The increase in size iis due t o the breakdown of chapters appearing in the earlier editions into several new chapters, four of which are: (1) The Periodic System, (2) Measurements, Elements, Compounds, (3) Colloid Chemistry, and (4) Chemical Equations. The early introduction of the periodic system, atomic structure, and valence gives an excellent foundation for later discussions. The latter half of the book, covering principally the metals, is little changed from the third edition, except to bring production figures of compounds up t o date. An attractive feature is the historical references leading t o the discovery of the elements, which brings out the human side of chemistry. The inclusion of pictures of common pieces of laboratory apparatus, as well as a good choice of pictures showing industrial processes, is an excellent feature. As with previous editions, i t is bascially a "principles" book with many practical applications. The greater emphasis on the long form of the periodic table is a welebme departure from previous editions. Atomic and ionic radii are given in table form with other constants of the elements. Greater emphasis could have been placed on these constants throughout the book. The approach to the solution of problems is quite different from that found in previous editions. Quoting from the preface: "Formulas by which the mathematical problems may be solved have been omitted almost entirely, because it is thought that if the student understands the principles which are involved, he will have no trouble in working simplo problems.'' Unit and factor methods have replaced proportion as such in the solution of chemical problems. An adequate number of examples of problems is given. Boldface type is used in place of italics as in previous editions, t o strees words and sentences. Illustrations of apparatus are partially offset on the vertical margins of the pages. The approach to the study of the elementa by starting with oxygen is very nicely developed. The book has eliminated excess "busy-work" in the exercises, particularly as concerns the inter-
will be much enjoyed by many professional and business people who have never met mathematics beybnd the elementary courses, as well as by mathematicians a t all levels. Those who know Professor Bell realize that he tells a. very colorful, even salty, story. (Under the pseudonym John Taine he is a successful writer of science fiction.) The aut,hor'~flairfnrnarrat-
ally even cocky. I n the preface we learn that the book is an integration, revision, and "very considerable amplification" of two of thr. author's many popular books, "The Queen of the Sciences," 1931, and "The Handmaiden of the Sciences," 1937 (both published by Thc the Williams & Wilkins Comoanv. .,, but out of mint). , greater part of the new book is'devoted to clearly introducing n number of fields of mathematics andits applications. Thore arc references to some 200 mathematioians from the sixth century B.C. t o the present, but admittedly no attempt is made far hiatorical aompleteness. The material is presented s t a leisurely pace, livened by gay verbal illustrations, speculations, frank appraisals, pauses t o survey progress, and some flights of fancy ( e . g., see page 4 on automatic camputera). The leader who skips the mathematical technicalities will find good reading in the author's refreshing comments about mathematics and its practitioners. For example, in thinking of courses for a sixteen-year-old, he observes (page 11) that "it does seem t o some modern minds that Newton and Leibnie were more inspiring leaders than Julius Caesar and his unimaginative lieutenant Titus Labienus." In a general blast a t educational t e t t ~ r s ,we lead (page 381) that "mathematieians are not, as a rule, credulous; their clients almost invariably are." The author reveals his perspective by stating (page 311) that "mathematics is but ont: of several expedients resorted t o by scientists, and in many in^ stances one of the less important. Scientists have checks on their work that no mathematician can ever have." Of the 20 chapters, 13 deal with topics in pure mathematics. namely: spirit of modern mathematics, nature of mathematical truth, postulate systems, our number system, abstract algebra, invariance as the basis of geometry, analytic geometry, abstract geometry and topology, groups, noneuclidean geometry, number theory, infinity, mathematical existence, and consistency. Seven chapters deal with topics in applied mathematics, namely: ~~
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